Sherry Senior

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Obituary – Sherry Senior

Sherry Kay “Cookie” Senior passed away March 13, 2008, at Memorial Hermann Hospital after a year-long battle with scleroderma. She is survived by her husband, David; three daughters and sons-in-law, Amy and Aaron Isgur, Anne and Scott Golenternek, and Ashley and Gavin Roseman; father, R. M. Swesnik; sisters, Hyla Swesnik and Marcia Lehman; and uncle, Jack Shnier.

Born October 8, 1948, in Oklahoma City, Cookie was raised in Dallas and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1970, where she was a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority and of Phi Beta Kappa. She received a Master of Education degree from Southern Methodist University.

Cookie and David settled in Houston in 1977 to raise their family. For over twenty years, Cookie taught algebra at Bellaire High School and used her creativity and imagination to make math fun and exciting for her students. She held a position in the HISD Math Department, developing curriculum and training other math teachers. She was the host of several shows on the HISD channel, the After School Math Show, the After School Algebra Show and Action Algebra.

Cookie will be greatly missed by all of her family and friends, including The Running Group, the Pan Game and the Bridge Group.

Funeral services were held at 2 p.m., Friday, March 14, 2008, at Beth Israel Memorial Gardens. Rabbi David Lyon and Cantor Robert Gerber officiated.

The family requests that donations be made to the Alumni and Friends of Bellaire High School, P. O. Box 1374, Bellaire, TX 77402-1374, to endow the Sherry Senior Scholarship Fund for Future Math Teachers. The Senior family plans to match all contributions.

Eulogy – Cookie Senior Prepared by: Rabbi David Lyon

March 14, 2008

The phone rang yesterday morning in my study at Beth Israel. The chaplain at Hermann Memorial Hospital told me that one of our congregants had died. She said her name is Sherry Senior. I expressed my concern and took the phone number to call the family immediately. When I hung up, I thought to myself, who’s Sherry Senior? Then I had a terrible thought that it was Cookie. I searched my Temple directory. It only said “David and Sherry.” Then I searched my notes from the wedding preparation with Anne and Ashley. It only said “David and Cookie.” Finally, I called David on his cell phone and learned what no one wanted to be true. It was our very own and beloved Cookie.

Today, we hang our heads in disbelief. Too young. Too vibrant. Too soon. Cookie was a wonderful wife, mother, sister and to so many a beloved friend. Cookie was born in Oklahoma City, grew up in Dallas, went to school in Austin, and eventually made the right choice with David to be a Houstonian. They met in college. He was in what is now ZBT, and she was in AEPhi. They met during the fall semester and, as it turned out, their first date was at Rosh Hashanah services. It had “Divine Intervention” written all over it. They soon discovered they had many things in common. They were both first in their high school graduation classes, they both had high SAT scores, and they loved talking about mutual interests and ideas. They married and they shared 37 years together.

Everyday, Cookie was a burst of controlled energy. For a long time, the day began with a morning run with David. Alone on the run, they had time to catch up on lots of topics. They weren’t quiet runs, however. More often they were debates and conversations that could be more strenuous than the runs, themselves. Cookie didn’t waste a moment. When she went to the mall to shop she moved from store to store with a plan. Few people could keep up with her. On the weekends, when the girls were still young, Cookie and David went out every Saturday evening. Usually with friends, or even alone, they looked forward to time out.

Cookie was a perfectionist. She had a vision of how things should be and she stuck to her plan. At home, she had high expectations for Amy, Anne and Ashley. They knew that their appearance, their grades and their outlook would have to exceed the norm. An average grade was an opportunity to do better. Fun was welcome, but raucous behavior, probably not. There were boundaries within which Cookie felt everyone could have a good time and also be judged favorably.

Cookie’s finest moments were in the classroom. She taught math at Bellaire High School for many, many years. She thrived in the classroom where a perfect lesson taught well gave her and her students enormous satisfaction. Only a part-time teacher, Cookie still won honors as “best teacher” twice. Her classroom was filled with colorful and helpful teaching materials. She doted on her students. They remembered long after they left her classroom. Cookie also taught teachers. As a teacher of teachers she helped them excel in ways she came to enjoy. Cookie knew how to do it well; and, she enjoyed showing others how to do it, too. In the midst of showing you how to do something differently, she would often say, “This is what I do, and it works.” Isn’t that what you would expect to hear from a teacher? And who wouldn’t follow her advice?

It was as true in the classroom as it was at home. Amy, Anne and Ashley grew up learning how to do it the way their mother did. Many examples, lessons and methods were shared over the years. But, it didn’t always take easily; after all, they weren’t her students at home. It wasn’t uncommon for David and the girls to tease Cookie, sometimes, mercilessly. Her determination to do things right and always to be appropriate invited their remarks. Always in love but with biting humor, it happened more than a few times that Cookie would look at them in frustration and say, “I hate this family.” She knew she had to throw in the towel and laugh with them before they went any further. Who could live up to all her lessons? Well, Cookie could and her family delighted in trying.

Cookie and her sister, Hyla, had a close bond. They were only 17 months apart. They were like twins. When they went their separate ways in life as each married, they literally separated clothing and other items, like a couple divorcing. When your best friend goes off in a new direction, you both know that times have changed but not the affection. Today, too, Hyla, memories of time shared will return to you as a source of courage and hope. Her sister, Marcia, her father, Bob, and her uncle, Jack, also remember Cookie, lovingly.

At Anne and Scott’s wedding in Austin, many of you remember that the weather wasn’t in our favor. Cantor Gerber and I waited in the corridor and made predictions about the storm. Cookie approached me and asked what I thought? I told her that I was here for her and the family. She was very clear. We came for an outdoor wedding. Okay, I said, then we should get started. Standing under the chuppah, I turned to the Cantor and told him that I would cut my personal remarks in favor of reaching the end of the service sooner. I saw the clouds moving in and they weren’t waiting for us. We reached the end of the service, and the umbrellas went up. As soon as the last guest got into the building the skies opened up and the rain came pouring down. I thought it was Divine intervention. Now I know it was Cookie.

Before that day, she was fondly known by her family as “Negative Nancy.” Always playing within the boundaries, Cookie was not a risk taker. She was actually a shy person. She didn’t like to get on the phone to make many calls. She didn’t like to get up in front of lots of people. Ironically, she was great with people and she stood in front of students and teaches, every day. It was perhaps a stumbling block she placed in front of herself as she pursued excellence in everything she did. But, after the Austin wedding, she earned a new name. To the family, she became “Gutsy Gloria.” She broke through and discovered that she had a lot of moxy to take on the heavens, and win!

At Ashley and Gavin’s wedding in September, Cookie was in her element. Looking beautiful and mustering up all her strength, she was the perfect hostess. Her friends and family gathered around and made the last of the three weddings of her daughters a spectacular memory.

Maybe Cookie took herself too seriously from time to time, and maybe she focused on rules and boundaries too often, but it was her inimitable and predictable nature that brought us around her for more of anything she had to offer. Everyone counted on Cookie to be Cookie: precise, well-dressed, appropriate, sincere and loving. She was a friend, a mentor, and a leader. She was a rock on whom all of us could lean and no one could find fault. That’s the way she liked it, and that’s the way she would like to be remembered.

I’m still sad that the phone rang in my study yesterday to tell me about a woman I hoped I didn’t know. Who was Sherry? But, now, all of us have to embrace the fact that our dear Cookie has been taken from us. And, yet, we can be grateful that in light of the disease that overcame her, she is no longer suffering or in pain. Now, we can remember Cookie as she would want to be remembered. The stories will be told and the laughter should, too. Beyond our tears are the gifts of her life that even death cannot erase.

Zichrona livracha. May the memory of our beloved be a source of strength and blessing now and always. Amen.

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